Gas pipelines blown up – trial begins
The prime suspect, a Ukrainian man, is arrested by police and taken to Karlsruhe, Germany, in November of last year. File photo. Photo: Uli Deck/AP/TT
More than four years have passed since the explosions that destroyed the Nord Stream gas pipelines off the coast of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Now, the trial is beginning in Hamburg.
"It is taking place in our special high-security courtroom," Marayke Frantzen, the court's spokesperson, told the German public broadcaster NDR.
Seven people are suspected of involvement in the September 2022 sabotage of the Russian-owned Nord Stream gas pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany.
One of the prime suspects—a Ukrainian man arrested last year—is the first to face trial. He is accused of using a false identity and renting a yacht in Germany, from which the sabotage was allegedly carried out. According to the indictment, the 50-year-old man is charged with committing war crimes by employing "methods of warfare," NDR reports. The man denies the charges.
High level of interest
There is significant interest in the trial; more than a hundred journalists and photographers are present for the first day of proceedings, according to the Hamburg court.
The sabotage of Nord Stream took place in international waters, within the Danish and Swedish exclusive economic zones. Investigators believe the sabotage was carried out by a group of divers who attached explosive charges to the pipelines at a depth of approximately 80 meters. According to information from the investigation, the suspected perpetrators were recruited in Ukraine.
Germany is the only Baltic Sea nation to bring charges following the discontinuation of investigations in Sweden and Denmark.
Ukraine denies state involvement
The proceedings begin on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. The trial is expected to be lengthy; 16 hearing dates have been scheduled so far.
Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of being behind the explosions. Ukraine has denied any state involvement in the sabotage.
Russia’s Nord Stream 2 project was completed in 2021 but never became operational, as Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine the following year. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline was inaugurated in 2011 but had been shut down for maintenance prior to the explosions. It has remained closed since the sabotage.
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